This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the presently described embodiments. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present embodiments. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
In order to meet consumer and industrial demand for natural resources, companies often invest significant amounts of time and money in finding and extracting oil, natural gas, and other subterranean resources from the earth. Particularly, once a desired subterranean resource such as oil or natural gas is discovered, drilling and production systems are often employed to access and extract the resource. These systems may be located onshore or offshore depending on the location of a desired resource.
Offshore drilling systems typically include a marine riser that connects a drilling rig to subsea wellhead equipment, such as a blowout preventer stack connected to a wellhead. A drill string may be run from the drilling rig through the marine riser into the well. Drilling mud may be routed into the well through the drill string and back up to the surface in the annulus between the drill string and the marine riser. As will be appreciated, a floating offshore drilling rig can experience forces (e.g., from waves or wind) that cause the drilling rig to move position with respect to the well. For this reason, marine risers often include various components that allow the marine riser to accommodate such motion. For example, marine risers may include flex joints that enable the riser to pivot within an angular range to accommodate lateral motion of the drilling rig on the surface. Marine risers may also include telescoping joints that expand and contract to compensate for vertical motion (or heave) of the drilling rig.